


Agents of the FBI

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins Movies), Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris, The X-Files, Twin Peaks
Genre: FBI agents bonding, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Starts during season 1 of Hannibal, Starts pre X-Files and pre Twin Peaks, silence of the lambs, what's happening behind the scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 18:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10223945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: Dale Cooper, Clarice Starling, and Dana Scully are all at the FBI Academy but it's a meeting purely built on chance that ends up bringing the three together.





	

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know how many chapters this will have. It's basically just something I thought of and I really wanted to play around with the idea so here you go :)

When Clarice heard ‘group project’, she immediately turned to her roommate and friend, Ardelia. However, before she could even ask, the teacher said, “The groups are listed outside. Class dismissed.”

Ardelia laughed as Clarice’s face fell. “Come on. It won’t be that bad.”

“Knowing my luck, I’m stuck with some ass like Bobby Schumer,” muttered Clarice as she put up her laptop and papers.

“At least Schumer likes you.”

“He likes how I look, not me,” Clarice sighed, “and he’s a horrible human being so don’t even try and make this better for me.”

“You don’t even know if you’re paired up with him yet. At least have a look at the sheet.”

Clarice simply shook her head with a sigh, already resigning herself to a painful two hours or however long it took before she could get away. However, once she walked out and actually looked for her name, the two adjacent ones were not Bobby Schumer.

The first one, Dale Cooper, she recognized immediately. He was friendly with everyone and probably the most optimistic person she had ever met. However, it was that constant optimism, weird phrases, and near permanent smile that also kind of put everyone off. As far as Clarice knew, he didn’t actually have a group of friends-or really any friend. The only person she could recall him constantly hanging out with was Dr. Albert Rosenfield, a forensic specialist that had hosted a few lectures. However, the man was so cynical that Clarice couldn’t imagine how the two had met or how they could even stand each other.

The second name wasn’t as familiar. Dana Scully, had she ever met a Dana Scully? No face came to mind as she tried to conjure up the people in her class. When she felt eyes on her, she turned to see a woman with startlingly red hair looking over.

“You’re Starling, aren’t you.”

“Oh, you must be Scully.”

Clarice nodded and they quickly shook hands. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

She said, “I don’t believe we have Ms. Starling.”

“Please, just Clarice.”

“I guess you can call me Dana then,” she replied after a moment. Her eyes moved back to the list and said, “Cooper…now where is—”

“Right here,” the young man said, practically appearing at their sides with a chipper expression on his face. “Nice to see you both again. I must say I’m very happy that I’m stuck with you two.”

Clarice allowed herself a small smile, not surprised that Dale had met Dana, he’d probably introduced himself to everyone in the building. “It’s good to see you too Dale. I guess we better get started, huh?”

He nodded, incredibly excited like what they were about to do wasn’t just another boring assignment.

They headed to the library and found a spot where they could all get comfortable and pull out their laptops and papers. The project, an essay, was a bit different as all were to work individually on their analysis of the crime scene they’d been given and then write a compare and contrast paper together, either approving or disproving their partner’s assertions.

During class they’d gone over the case so for the first hour and a half, they all simply focused on writing their own report. In the middle of it, Dale momentarily left and came back with three cups of coffee.

“Nothing like a good cup of coffee to keep the brain flowing,” he grinned as he handed them each their own.

Clarice didn’t comment that she preferred hers with sugar seeing as he had done it out of his own good will. She simply thanked him and sipped at it as they continued writing before they were all done.

“Who wants to go first?” asked Dale with a large grin.

Clarice looked between the two with a raised eyebrow and Dana shrugged. “Well I think it’s most likely the brother killed her. Judging by the strikes, the boyfriend didn’t have the strength or height to throw a killing blow in such few hits, especially since only his fists were used and the brother is the only person we have that best matches the necessary physical requirements for that to happen.”

“His fists were used?” asked Clarice as she went back through the file and tried to remember if it had been confirmed anywhere.

“I must say Dana, that doctorate of yours comes in handy,” Dale said.

Clarice looked over. “Doctorate?”

She nodded. “I’m a medical doctor. I got my degree before I decided to join the FBI.”

“You must breeze by all those medical classes then,” Clarice said.

Dana finally smiled and replied, “For the most part, though I will say I wasn’t trained in forensics.”

“Either way, we’re lucky to have you,” Dale said. “I bet we’re ahead of those other groups already.”

The project wasn’t exactly a competition but Clarice admitted she liked imagining it as such. It made it just a little more enjoyable as she described what she had gotten out of the report. She talked more about the victim and how she must have known the killer judging by the fact there hadn’t been a forced entry and that two glasses had been left out even though she’d been alone that night.

When Dale went, he talked about the previous correspondences from the brother and sister. Clarice didn’t see anything overly malicious in their emails and texts and it seemed that neither did Dana. However, Dale’s response wasn’t much help for what had drawn him to them, just pure intuition.

Either way, they’d come to the same conclusion though in the final essay Dana tore Dale’s process apart, stating that there hadn’t been enough there to arrest the brother or look around his home. He didn’t seem to mind though, simply stating, “Then I’m really glad I have the two of you to back me up.”

After it was finally finished, Clarice had to excuse herself as she had to be out on the course in a little less than an hour. Dale also had a class so Dana promised she’d get the final work to their teacher before the day was out.

With a quick goodbye, Clarice headed to the dorms to change into her sweats. Ardelia ended up being there as well, giving her a quick smirk as she asked, “Was it as awful for you as it was for me?”

“I…actually enjoyed myself,” Clarice answered.

“What? Who were you stuck with?”

“Cooper and Scully.”

“Urgh, your bad luck must have rubbed off on me. _I_ got Bobby Schumer.”

Clarice laughed good and hard. “Don’t worry, I’m sure my bad luck will come back to haunt me. Dinner tonight?”

“You bet. My mom’s in town and she’s already promised to pay.”

“You know, I hate it when she does that.”

“I know and so does she. It’s why she does it,” chuckled Ardelia. “Now you hurry on to class before you’re late.”

“I’ll see you for dinner then.”

“See ya.”

* * *

 

Dana had seen Clarice around a few times. She was a bright student, one of the top ones in their class. She had never really met her though, both having their own groups of friends and different paths in the FBI. However, she had enjoyed talking to her and found her way of thinking and empathizing with the victim rather refreshing and different.

Dale Cooper…Dale she wasn’t sure about. From what she knew of him, he was one of those people that had decided he’d be an FBI agent at age six or something or other and had stuck with his dream for his entire life. However, she didn’t really believe that a dreamer’s mind was needed in the FBI. Instinct was desirable of course but she felt that Dale relied on unnamable feelings to much compared with facts and numbers.

Either way, their project was done and she headed back to their teacher’s room to turn it in before he left for the day. Walking in, she was surprised to see Mr. Graham speaking with Agent Mulder. She’d never met the agent personally but had seen the lecture he’d given to the upcoming students. From what she knew he was still fairly new (had only been an agent for two years) and had been top of his class. However, already he seemed to be gaining a reputation what with his talk of extraterrestrials clearly being more than just a hobby.

“You could help. I know you could what with that special talent you have. I mean, obviously a human couldn’t have done this. You could figure out who or what did,” Mulder said as he pointed at a folder in his hands.

Graham simply shook his head, his eyes looking everywhere but in Mulder’s direction. “I’m not an agent. Besides, what you’re looking for is more medical based anyways. You’d have better luck with Katz or Pilcher or Rosenfield,” Will said. It was obvious that he was trying to be polite even if he was drawing farther and farther away.

Dana couldn’t tell if Graham had noticed her, though she knew Mulder had when he glanced back and mouthed, _be done in just a second_. He turned back to Graham and said, “Everyone knows you’re cleared for duty now that you’re working with Jack Crawford.”

“It’s not a regular thing,” murmured Graham, clearly uncomfortable not that Mulder seemed to care or notice.

“Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern. Besides, you saved that girl, Abigail Hobbs’ life and plenty of others,” Mulder tried.

Dana immediately knew that line wouldn’t work, recalling Graham’s resignation and quick shutting down of the standing ovation he’d gotten after the Hobbs’ case. She was proven right as Graham replied, “Dr. Lecter saved Abigail and I killed her father. Doesn’t exactly make me a hero.”

“You killed a serial killer though. That should be—”

“I can’t help you Agent Mulder and you can’t exactly force me to take the case,” Graham interrupted, his eyes finally flitting to Mulder’s as he dropped the weak vale of courtesy.

Dana was to far away to fully see and understand what happened but she was able to make out the unmistakable shiver that ran down Mulder’s back. In a flash, the agent had composed himself and Graham was avoiding eye contact again. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine Mr. Graham, the resigned, quiet teacher, causing anyone fear and yet she felt that she had witnessed just that.

“Right,” Mulder muttered, drawing the word out far longer than he needed to. “I guess I’ll get going then.”

Graham simply turned his eyes back to his papers, firmly ignoring Mulder from then on out.

Mulder turned and made an exasperated face, tucking the file under one arm. He made an overly dramatic expression, clearly saying, _approach at your own risk_ , which got Dana to snort. Mulder grinned in response before leaving the classroom and Dana finally went up, approaching Graham’s desk.

“I’m turning in the group project for myself, Cooper, and Starling,” she said. She waited, her mouth turning down as Graham didn’t respond. “Mr. Graham, I have the paper you wanted.”

He jolted upon her repeating. It was obvious his mind had fallen into itself, blind and deaf to the world. It was also obvious that he hadn’t seen her first walk in as utter bewilderment crossed his face.

“Dana Scully,” she simply said before Graham could respond. “I’m turning in the group project.”

“Oh, right. Just put it there,” mumbled Graham, not once looking her in the eyes. However, she did note that he glanced behind her, seeing something that had his brow knitting together in confusion and irritation.

Dana placed the paper down and turned, expecting to see someone (perhaps the Guru Jack Crawford since everyone knew how tense his and Graham’s relationship was) but there was nothing there.

Walking out of the classroom, she glanced back once more and saw that Graham’s eyes were still trained on something that she now realized only he could see.

She didn’t allow herself to think to much on it. Graham was her teacher and she’d likely never see him again once she left the class. However, at least she felt that she had an inkling of understanding as to why he’d never been made an FBI agent.

* * *

 

As far as everyday life was concerned, very little upset Dale. Because of that, he had really enjoyed Dana’s cutthroat counterarguments and claims. Though certainly not as cynical, she reminded him of Albert. He played with the idea of seeing the two working together, imaging that they’d make quite the team as they used science as their weapon.

He’d also quite liked Clarice. She was a bit quiet but got going once she found her footing in a conversation and then she became as stubborn as a bull. Dale found he really liked that too.

Because of that, the fact that it had been one group project and there was really no reason to speak with either of them again never crossed his mind. Obviously if they didn’t want him around he would have picked up on it (he wasn’t an idiot and respected other’s choices) but as neither Dana nor Clarice seemed opposed to his company, Dale simply kept showing up.

He asked Dana for help on a few of his forensic courses, something which got on Albert’s nerves to no end and which Dale found hilarious, and figured out that Clarice was in his shooting class too. When he found out she had the highest score, he quickly asked her for tips and ended up beside her every day from then on.

It wasn’t uncommon for him to ask the two if they wished to study or hang out after that and he was pleased whenever both said yes. He knew they had their own group of friends which honestly made their answers all the more special seeing as it meant they were trading time with them to spend it with him.

He began to consider them friends too, especially after one conversation over studying. It was early in the morning as they crowded around a table in one of Dale’s favorite coffee shops (a treat that he always got for Dana and Clarice).

They had finished most of the major points, going over what would likely be on the test, when Dale asked, “So are we friends now?” He supposed that most didn’t ask such a question but he honestly wanted to know what the other two thought.

Both clearly surprised, Clarice managed to answer first. “Yeah, yeah I think we are.”

Turning to look at Dana, the woman blinked and said, “Friends help each other. They hang out. So…yes?”

Dale simply grinned, not bothered at all by any confusion. “Oh good. It’s nice to have friends.”

And it wasn’t like he didn’t have friends. Albert was a very dear friend and he had recently found himself becoming friends with Agent Gordon Cole, something which he expected would help him in the future. However, it was nice having friends near his own age and which he could talk to basically whenever he wanted to without fear of being yelled at (usually which came from Albert when he was going off about how Dale was just distracting him from important Bureau work).

Overall though, he found himself enjoying the classes and the Bureau’s academy much more than before as the three began to get into a pattern of having coffee together nearly every morning, even if they didn’t have classes that day.

He found that their odd but intelligent and fast thinking group also caught the eye of some higher ups as well. He met with Agent Skinner and Cole pretty often and found out that Dana had gotten a personal tour through some of the labs (Dana had later told him about it, clearly excited, though he’d actually heard the story first from Albert as he complained about Katz, Price, and Zeller’s lack of professionalism).

By far, the most interesting thing that happened though was when Dale heard Clarice was actually working on a case for Jack Crawford. She’d explained something about the man not having enough warm bodies but either way Dale found himself hugging her hard and congratulating her profusely on the chance.

“All I’m doing is looking over some files, that’s all,” chuckled Clarice as she hugged him back.

Dana was of course there too and she said, “Still, it’s a great chance. And you want to work under Crawford, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Well, just be careful,” said Dana. “You’re not in a classroom anymore.”

“She’ll be fine,” Dale said with a grin. “She’s got some of the best instincts out of all of us.”

“I’m not gonna be going into the field guys. At least…probably not,” she replied. “But anyways, coffee is going to be iffy for a bit until the case is either solved or the Guru gets tired of me.”

Dale chuckled at that and said, “That’s perfectly alright. You’ll have to tell us how it all goes.”

“I will. I actually have to head out now so I’ll talk to you both later.”

“Good luck Clarice,” Dana added.

“Thanks.”

As Clarice left, Dale turned to Dana and noted that she wasn’t fully smiling anymore. “What? Didn’t you just say this was a great chance for her?”

“Yes but…haven’t you heard of the last trainee Crawford used? She ended up the last victim of the Chesapeake Ripper.”

Dale’s smile faltered for the first time in a while. “They never found a body and she’s not going after the Ripper.”

“Still…”

“She’ll be fine,” Dale repeated, this time forcing the smile to stay on his face. “She will.”

As the words left his mouth, he quickly realized one of the problems with having friends: worry. And Dana had just made him worry a hell of a lot more than he had expected.


End file.
